Porifera: Class Calcarea (Calcareous Sponges)

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Encyclopedia—Porifera

Class Calcarea (Calcareous Sponges)

Sponges in this class are typified by skeletal spicules composed of calcium carbonate. The spicules often protrude through the epipinecodermal covering of the body wall, giving the organism a rough texture. Calcareous sponges are small, usually only a few inches high, and are generally dull in appearance, although several species are brightly colored. Members of this class are among the simplest sponges, and all three morphological types—asconoid, syconoid, and leuconoid—are represented. There are approximately 150 known species, exclusively marine and shallow-water dwellers.

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Related content from HighBeam Research on: Porifera: Class Calcarea (Calcareous Sponges)

Molecular evolution of rDNA in early diverging Metazoa: First comparative analysis and phylogenetic application of complete SSU rRNA secondary structures in Porifera.(Research article) (BMC Evolutionary Biology)

Polyphyly of "sclerosponges" (Porifera, Demospongiae) supported by 28S ribosomal sequences. (The Biological Bulletin)

Origin of Insulin Receptor-Like Tyrosine Kinases in Marine Sponges. (The Biological Bulletin)

CYSTOTHALAMIA VANDEGRAAFFI NEW SPECIES AND OTHER SPHINCTOZOAN SPONGES FROM THE UPPER CARBONIFEROUS OF SPAIN (Journal of Paleontology)

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